No private sales: all Lukoil gas for Gazprom - report

MOSCOW, January 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's privately-owned LUKOIL has pledged to continue selling all its gas production to export monopoly Gazprom and will not follow Novatek or Rosneft in seeking independent outlets, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported on Wednesday, quoting industry sources.

The two current partners were preparing a new agreement on strategic cooperation, the newspaper said, noting that the document was to be signed by the end of March, on expiry of the current accord, signed in March 2005.

Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller and LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov were reported to have discussed the deal a week ago, proposing an arrangement running 5-10 years.

The accord may change prices and increase supplies, and once LUKOIL starts developing Caspian fields, it will also sell its share of this gas to Gazprom, the paper says, noting that the 2005 deal provided for the companies’ joint exploration and development of fields in Yamalo-Nenets autonomous territory, Nenets autonomous territory and regions including the Caspian and Uzbekistan.

LUKOIL currently produces gas only on the Yamalo-Nenets field but will commission three large fields within five years at Pyakyakhinskoye, Yuzhno-Messoyakhskoye and Khalmerpayutinskoye.

As a result, LUKOIL may increase gas production almost threefold by 2020, from 8 billion cubic meters in 2013 to 23 billion cubic meters.